Martin Burt: “Asking players to submit documents will become a thing of the past”

Martin Burt, CEO at ClearStake, spoke with Casino Guru about the impact that requesting financial data is having on both players and operators. With regulation demanding more checks across a player’s lifetime, it has become vital to deliver them in a way that doesn’t negatively impact the user experience and create additional burdens for the operator. In today’s interview, we look at how best to approach the challenge.

Q: There’s a lot of attention on financial data checks in the online gaming industry right now. Could you give us some context as to why they’ve moved centre stage?

You are right to say this is a hot topic at the moment, especially in the UK off the back of the white paper and the start of the pilots. This is the result of a trend we’ve seen accelerate for more than a decade now, whereby regulators are demanding operators have a far clearer understanding of their customers, which ultimately results in more requests for data from their players. Most are used to the standard KYC and AML checks, but that’s expanded into new areas, notably financial vulnerability in the UK.

At the same time, as restrictions on advertising tighten and CPAs increase, operators are really feeling the cost of a player churning due to a poor data request experience. We’re now at a point where optimising the way these processes are conducted has become a key competitive advantage, and one that can have a significant impact on the bottom line.

Q: What can be done by operators to ensure they fulfil the checks they are required to without disrupting the user’s experience too much?

Well, this is the challenge everyone’s now facing and will continue to face regardless of the final outcome of the current pilots. The first step is making the connection. I still talk to operators who view the checks solely as a compliance challenge, and completely discount the UX problems that it creates for the player. Of course, when the friction of these processes increases, it has a very real impact on the player, and in turn, the operator’s retention rates and revenues.

We think in terms of optimising processes, rather than delivering checks, which ensures that we remain relevant regardless of the outcome of the pilots. Whatever happens next year, our partners will continue to benefit from the additional workflows and features we will be delivering.

For us, it’s about making the process of requesting data - particularly financial, whether at the point of affordability, KYC or AML - as seamless as possible. This means optimising every element. Is the initial interaction both timely and relevant? Is the player given clear instructions on how to complete the process? Can we further reduce the time needed for the customer to complete the process, even by a few seconds? Can we provide the easiest possible way to complete the process, and let the player get back to what they want to be doing?

It’s important for operators to be thinking about these operational processes not just in terms of their regulatory obligations, but also by how the player experience is impacted.

Q: How is ClearStake tackling these challenges?

We set up ClearStake back in 2020 with a clear mission to streamline these data requests and other operational processes. At the time, there wasn’t a great deal of dialogue around these checks and the impact they were having. In most cases, it was simply viewed as a cost of doing business.

We saw that the UX for customers was, to be frank, really quite poor, as operators were relying on old technologies. As such, a significant share of players were just opting out completely, rather than trying to supply the information that was being requested.

At the same time, the open banking framework was in place to allow this process to be done better. ClearStake was conceived to offer operators a tech-driven alternative, whether that be real-time financial data analysis or customised compliance workflows. We think about it in similar terms to how a retailer might tackle the challenge of basket abandonment.

It’s about creating smoother journeys for players, and better experiences for players. The exciting bit is that we’re still finding new ways to achieve this, including one product we’ll be launching early next year that’s going to be a complete gamechanger.

Q: Looking forward to 2025, how do you see this area evolving?

The first thing to say is this trend isn’t showing signs of reversing. And I’m not just talking about the UK. Regulators around the world are increasingly demanding more operator interventions, and I’d expect this to continue not just next year, but beyond.

Now the good news. The technology is being developed to conduct the majority of these checks without disrupting the player. Open banking has been a hugely important part of this process but that’s only the start. We see a future where the need for players to submit physical documents at any point becomes a thing of the past, and we have our first step towards this vision launching early next year.

It’s a really exciting development, and we’re working tirelessly to build the products needed to keep operators compliant and players enjoying the action.

Image credit: ClearStake